UK IPO takes the law into its own hands, while Swiss mint new copyright rules

A new, up-to-date version of the monstrously mutated statute from hell that calls itself the UK's Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 has been posted today on the UK Intellectual Property Office website. The CDPA has been amended more times than it would be polite to mention since it came into force on 1 August 1989 and there is no official version consolidated into a single text. Weighing in at 890 killer-bites, the UK IPO's version can be enjoyed (sic) here.

Right: the CDPA has morphed from a sweet, brave new law to an unfathomable brute with a mind of its own

IPKat warning: do not attempt to print out this document unless you hate the environment - it runs to 324 pages of A4 size paper. What's more, adds Merpel, it will probably be out of date again by the time you've finished printing it.

Morphing here
How to cope with change here and here
Other icons of change here, here and here


Meanwhile, over in the cunningly neutral jurisdiction of Switzerland, there have also been some notable legislative developments. The IPKat is proud to bring this information to you via his friend Dr Emanuel Meyer (Senior Legal Advisor, Copyrights and Neighboring Rights, with the Swiss Patent Office).

Right: never willing to follow fashion, the Swiss created this striking answer to the Apple iPod - though the funky earpieces were never popular with users

The good doctor tells him:

"Last Friday, 5 October, the Swiss Parliament approved two Bills regarding the ratification of the WIPO Internet Treaties and the amendment of the Copyright Act, adapting the latter to the digital environment. Regarding the protection of works and technical measures, the Bills closely follow the EU directive on copyright in the information society. Additionally, they contain some new limitations, deemed necessary in the digital environment. These include a simplified procedure for the acquisition of necessary rights (i.e. mandatory collective rights management) for broadcasters to exploit their archives and for making their programs available over the internet. Additional limitations deal with the use of orphan works in publicly accessible collections and broadcasters' archives (mandatory collective rights management again), with access to works for people with disabilities and with temporary acts of reproduction".

Best of all, Emanuel tells the Kat, further information and the text of the Bills are available here in German, French and Italian (sorry no English). Well done, says the Kat. That shows a real commitment to multilingualism in the new Europe - and he's sure that an English text will follow shortly. Er, but doesn't Switzerland have three official languages anyway, corresponding to its three linguistic groups, queries Merpel - and aren't they French, German and Italian?

Quick Quiz: how many times does the word "internet" appear in WIPO's two Internet Treaties? (texts here for Copyright, and here for Performances and Phonograms)